IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT UMUC HAS JUST DIRECTED ITS STAFF TO LOWER STANDARDS OF STUDENT EVALUATION AS IT RAMPED THE AMOUNT OF COURSE WORK INTO EVER SHORTER INCREMENTS. TEXAS, ALABAMA, AND GEORGIA ALL DID THE SAME WITH THEIR K-12 SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO SAY THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND STANDARDS WERE MET..........MARYLAND IS DOING THE SAME THING WITH ITS SCHOOLS. YOU SAY YOU HAVE THE BEST, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE IS LOWER STANDARDS! UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY, ALSO A WORKING CLASS/UNDERSERVED UNIVERSITY ALSO HAS A HIGH NUMBER OF ONLINE CLASSES, AND NOW COPPIN UNIVERSITY......YES, ANOTHER UNDERSERVED UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES A PUSH FOR ONLINE WITH A LARGE FOR-PROFIT ONLINE CERTIFICATE/DEGREE PROGRAM ADVERTISED ON ITS WEBSITE . ALL THESE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED TO BE PREDATORY AND OFFER LITTLE VALUE AND HIGH DEBT FOR THEIR STUDENTS, BUT MARYLAND'S POLITICIANS WAVE THEM IN.

WHY DOES A POLITICIAN LIKE O'MALLEY, RAWLINGS-BLAKE, OR MARYLAND LEGISLATORS ALLOW THESE POLICIES TO BECOME LAW? THIS IS NOT FOR THE INTEREST OF CHILDREN OR FAMILIES. IT IS ONLY IN THE INTEREST OF MOVING PUBLIC EDUCATION TO PRIVATE CORPORATIONS ......SAVING THE TAXES PAID FOR STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR CORPORATE BOTTOM LINES. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON......AND THEY ARE HITTING OUR VETERANS AS HARD WITH THIS FRAUD AS THE WORKING CLASS. HEAVEN FORBID THEY COME HOME AND APPLY TO COLLEGE PARK FOR A STRONG, STANDARD EDUCATION AND DEGREE......GET THEM SIGNED ON TO UMUC OR PHOENIX AND PERPETUAL POVERTY WAGES.

VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT!!!!!!I WROTE THE DIRECTOR OF ONLINE COURSES AT OUR LOCAL COPPIN UNIVERSITY, A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE IF SHE FELT THAT THE NEW EMPHASIS ON ONLINE PROGRAMS LIKE THE ONES SHOWN BY 60 MINUTES TO BE EXPLOITING THE STUDENTS AND DEFRAUDING TAXPAYERS IS GOOD FOR THE COLLEGE. THIS COLLEGE IS FORCED TO TAKE THIS APPROACH BECAUSE O'MALLEY IS CUTTING THE BUDGETS OF THESE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND THE STATE TUITION GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS ARE DRYING UP. THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM IS GOING GLOBAL, THESE SMALL COLLEGES ARE PUSHED INTO LOWER QUALITY EDUCATION.

In the midst of a broader indictment of the U.S. education system, Stiglitz wrote that for-profit colleges "exploit those at the bottom" of society, and that they're "better at exploitation than at delivering a valuable education."

For-profit colleges, as the name suggests, are making money at a rate that public and private universities for the most part can't match. And at many such schools, there's no indication that they do an especially good job of equipping students to succeed.

Maybe Nobel Prize winner is onto something. _______________________________________________________PEARSON'S LEARNING SOLUTIONS IS A GLOBAL PACKAGED EDUCATION CORPORATION HEADQUARTERED IN THE UK. NONE OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE ASSESSED BY ACADEMICS....THEY ARE JUST MARKET-DRIVEN. IF THEY HAVE A STRONG MARKET-SHARE, THEY MUST BE GOOD......EXCEPT THAT ISN'T TRUE.ALL JOURNALISM POINTS TO IT BEING BAD, NOT GOOD.

WE MUST SHOUT LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT WE HAVE A GOOD TEMPLATE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ........ WE DON'T NEED WALL STREET EDUCATION BUBBLE TECHNOLOGY!

Coppin State University will offer its first fully online bachelor's degree this fall in an attempt to afford more flexibility to a student body that has struggled with graduation rates below 20 percent.

The management degree, designed in conjunction with an online education consultant, Pearson Learning Solutions, will be available starting in September. Coppin officials said an internal survey found that 86 percent of students expressed interest in taking online courses. "This online program will provide students with more options to complete their degrees and move on to successful careers," interim Provost Ronnie Collins said in a statement.

University officials said the program answers President Barack Obama's call for historically black colleges and universities to improve access by increasing online offerings. Coppin already offers many courses online as does Baltimore's other historically black university, Morgan State.

___________________________________________________IT IS THE RULE WITH CORPORATE RECRUITERS THAT ONLINE DEGREES ARE THE LAST TO BE CONSIDERED AND THEN, GENERALLY ALWAYS AS ENTRY-LEVEL. THESE STUDENTS PAY A HIGH TUITION OFTEN AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE TO GRADUATE WITH DEBT AND NO JOB PROSPECTS. WHY WOULD A STATE EMBRACE THIS MODEL OF EDUCATION? IT IS PURELY AN ACT OF EXPANDING THE SIZE OF CORPORATE OR STATE INSTITUTIONS WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF GOING GLOBAL. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PEOPLE.

Profit Schools Ensnare Veterans Kaplan Quest for Profits at Taxpayer Expense Ensnares VeteransBy Daniel Golden Veterans of Modern Warfare..........................Corporate Hiring While they hire applicants with online degrees for entry- level jobs, many Fortune 500 companies seeking veterans for leadership development programs prefer graduates of traditional colleges, said Drew Myers, chief executive of RecruitMilitary in Loveland, Ohio, which runs career fairs for veterans and helps them find jobs. After receiving an associate’s degree at another online college, Iraq War veteran Scot Reynolds transferred to Kaplan University. Kaplan recruiters led him to believe the university would help his career, he said in a telephone interview. Reynolds, who earned his bachelor’s degree in management in 2009, works as a telemarketer in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. He used his GI Bill benefits for living expenses and funded his Kaplan education with student loans. He owes more than $12,000, he said. He makes $8 an hour plus commission -- less than another company paid him before he graduated. “My income has drastically dropped,” said Reynolds, 27. “Kaplan was extremely limited with help in finding work.” Kaplan University provides a wide array of placement services, including resume building, mock interviews and networking assistance, Iori said. Payscale data are “unreliable” and “not statistically valid,” he said.__________________________________________________